Gunfight at the Treefrog Corral (2 Viewers)

[GuruDave]

We had a great time at the Treefrog Treasures store on Saturday. Eight people played two rounds of the gunfight game and one round of the WW2 skirmish game using Britains and TSSD plastic miniatures.

For the gunflight game we used the "Legends of the Old West" rules, one of the Warhammer Historical series from Games Workshop. They are a lot of fun and have a real Western flavor.

www.warhammer-historical.com/tow/tow.asp


For the WW2 game, just for variety, we used the Savage Worlds rules by Pinnacle. Since this was an introductory game, we only played the barest minimum skirmish rules from the Savage Worlds system. The complete rules are much richer and more detailed. I've been big fan of the SW rules ever since they came out in 2003, and I've used them for everything from prehistoric to modern skirmish games. They include a lot of rules for RPG-style gaming, too, as well as rules for fantasy skirmishing (magical spells, etc.). The "Explorers Edition" is only $9.95, too!


www.peginc.com/Games/SavageWorlds/main.htm

Photos:

 

[Leadmen]

Thanks for the photos of the games. I would say it looked like an interesting day. Ben looks very involved in playing the game. I wonder if Pete is the "fastest gun" at the Treefrog coral. John

 

[Alexdakar]

They call him "Pistol Pete"

 

[Shannon Reuss]

Dave,
Thanks for posting all the pics. My camera battery went dead before the first photo could be snapped but luckily Dave brought his camera along and let me shoot away with it.
Ben and Pete had a great time playing (I was minding the store downstairs but got to pop in and check things out frequently) and are contemplating making their own setup. We play a lot of Risk at our house and the Old West game had so much more variety than just rolling for control of Madagascar. I liked that the game was played in 54mm so we have everything we need to make our own right here in the store.

I have said before and I'll say it again, if enough people post about wargaming I'd be happy to make a specific category on the forum for it. I envision discussions about specific games, pictures of the game set ups and figures, subcategories for specific kinds of games like Warhammer etc., the possibilities are endless. But I gauge what gets its own category by how much interest there seems to be about the subject and I gauge the interest by how many posts, threads and members involved in the discussion there are. I think it's an interesting subgroup of figure collecting and could definitely have a place on the Frog.
Regards,

 

[GuruDave]

I've been a miniatures gamer for more than thirty years, and it is my passion. I look at historical miniatures gaming as "simulated history" in that you can put into practice what you understand and learn about a particular historical period. It is almost the equivalent of a lab for an academic course. Imagine reading a book about a particular historical period and then putting what you learned into practice in miniature scale.

Since everyone on these boards already collects miniatures, you already have an interest in the uniforms, weaponry, and equipment that is portrayed on the figures. In historical miniatures gaming, you learn about the various capabilities (and shortcomings) of the actual weapons, tactics, and troops. For example, were bayonet charges effective in the American Civil War? Did American Colonists really "skulk" in battles with the British Regulars? How much protection do slit trenches really provide against artillery in WW2? How effective might the Republican Guard have been defending inside a city? How were chariots employed differently between the Hittites and the Egyptians at the Battle of Kadesh? These are the types of questions that get answered (or at least theories evolve) when learning and playing historical miniatures games.

Don't let the cost scare you off, either. Miniatures games can involve as few as a single figure for each side (e.g. a duel or joust) and games with only a handful of figures on either side can portray raids or other small unit actions.

I encourage everyone who has an interest in historical miniatures to look into gaming with their collection. The Savage Worlds rules I linked to below are a great place to start since the Explorers Edition is cheap ($10) and the rules are not period specific.

Good luck and happy gaming!

 

[jazzeum]

With all due respect, there is no way I would use figures from my K & C collection to do wargaming as I like them in their condition they are in and want to keep them that way.

 

[Peter Reuss]

I think Ben and I are going to rustle up some plastics and create our own battles at home. The fight at the corral only took 14 plastic figures. Not too expensive. I'm a bit leery of taking on my son, though. He proved to be a MASTER dice roller...

I agree with Dave, there's a lot of history that goes into these games. It's just another way to 'recreate' history.

 

[GuruDave]

With all due respect, there is no way I would use figures from my K & C collection to do wargaming as I like them in their condition they are in and want to keep them that way.

Brad, I understand your concerns, and of course taking good care of an expensive collection is certainly reasonable.

However, wargaming needn't be hard on miniatures. I paint most of my own figures, and no more want to see that effort go to waste by having them bent, broken, scraped, etc. than I would want a figure for which I paid $20 or more damaged in some way.

While figures are moved around on the table during the game, that is their only physical involvement in the game. There is no throwing projectiles, missiles, etc. that can damage figures. I encourage players to handle my miniatures carefully, and I rarely have to ask twice.

So, to each his own, of course, and maintaining the condition of a collection is important. I completely understand the reluctance to game with them, but it can be done without damaging them in any way.

 

[eborris]

Looks like one grenade could take care of those US GI's fairly easily, of course the trick is getting close enough to toss one, doesn't seem to be much cover for those poor Germans.

 

[Peter Reuss]

Ben and I were the Americans...and the Germans overwhelmed us with their numbers! It didn't help that our guys couldn't hit the broadside of a barn! Next time we're calling in air strikes

 

[GuruDave]

The WW2 game was loosely based on conditions encountered during the 1944 German offensive in the Ardennes ("Battle of the Bulge"). Relatively low quality and tired American troops, spirited Germans armed with submachine guns, and....sorry Peter...overcast skies that prevented American airpower from stopping the German advance in its tracks.

Still, I thought the Americans would fare a little better in the game. They did have a string of unlikely die rolls. I also withheld the 0.30 caliber machine gun that comes with the TSSD pack, because I figured the Americans wouldn't need it. Oh, well. C'est la guerre.

 

[eborris]

Gee, it looks like it was only 9 against 5 and you had a BAR and decent cover.

 

[GuruDave]

Well, to keep it simple, we portrayed the Americans as having only M1 Garands and the Germans had only MP-40's. No one had grenades. Not historically correct but made the play much easier.

We also cut the weapon ranges down to reflect the "close in" nature of fighting in the forest. The MP-40's were only accurate out to 6 inches, and couldn't hit much beyond 12 inches. They could fire accurately in single shot mode or on full auto, which allowed more shots but was much less accurate. The M1's had twice that range, and always got a bonus for being semi-auto.